Recently Listened Podcasts for March 3, 2011

March 3, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

Steve wears overalls + What’s This Food? : GardenFork Radio
GardenFork Radio – Eric Rochow

Steve from the Born To Farm podcast and the Farm Cast Network joins us to talk about blogging with WordPress and making your own podcast, and Daniel Delaney of What’s This Food joins us to talk about how to cook Aebleskiver.

February 19, 2011: The Splendid Table
APM: The Splendid Table – American Public Media

It’s a look at the mysterious eel with James Prosek author of Eels, An Exploration, From New Zealand To The Saragasso, of the World’s Most Mysterious Fish, we look at the food life of Thailand with David Thompson author of Thai Street Food and John Kowals

Feb. 12, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
APM: A Prairie Home Companion’s News from Lake Wobegon American Public Media

We need snow this time of the year, everyone gets cranky during the month of February.

Entrepreneurs Win the Game with Social Media and Forward Passes
The Bigg Success Show The Bigg Success Show Life On My Own Terms

Feb. 26, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
APM: A Prairie Home Companion’s News from Lake Wobegon American Public Media

It is snowing again, despite people’s objections.

Prog. 5 Objects: The Mozarts’ Games
A History of Mozart in a Dozen Objects BBC Radio 3

Cliff Eisen focuses on the role of game-playing in Mozart’s life, and takes a look at a range of games including card games painted by Leopold Mozart himself, and a board game which featured the characters of Mozart’s Magic Flute….

022512 Hour 2: Bilingual Babies, Turkle on Technology, Transgenic Weeds
Science Friday Audio Podcast

Science Friday 022512 Hour 2: Bilingual Babies, Turkle on Technology, Transgenic Weeds

IOT: Maimonides 17th February 2011
In Our Time With Melvyn Bragg BBC Radio 4

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life, times and legacy of the great Jewish medieval philsopher, Maimonides. Also known as Rambam, Maimonides was a philosopher, theologian, lawyer and physician whose works are still influential today. Melvyn is…

mozart: Prog. 6 Objects: A telescope and a musical clock
A History of Mozart in a Dozen Objects BBC Radio 3

In this episode Cliff Eisen concentrates on a 18th-Century state-of-the-art telescope and on a musical clock as a sign of the Mozarts’ interest in science and technology – a typical concern of the time, which Wolfgang reflected in his music….

99% Invisible-17- Concrete Furniture
99% Invisible Roman Mars

The New City Hall, designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell, was the first modern, concrete, civic building in Toronto. When it opened in …

Do Entrepreneurs Thrive on Chaos?
The Bigg Success Show The Bigg Success Show Life On Your Own Terms

Darth Passat
Marketing Over Coffee John Wall and Christopher Penn

In this Marketing Over Coffee learn : About The Superbowl, Near Field Communications, WordPress plugins you can’t live without! All this and more… Direct Link to File Show length 26:16 Brought to you by our sponsors: Blue Sky Factory – Our Email Pro

mozart: Prog. 10 Objects: Leopold’s books and Mozart’s tea chest
A History of Mozart in a Dozen Objects BBC Radio 3

Cliff Eisen talks about travel in the 18th Century, and discovers the books Leopold Mozart picked up in London as well as the tea chest that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart carried with him on his travels….

Do You Care?
The Bigg Success Show The Bigg Success Show Life On Your Own Terms

Special Interview with Greg Verdino
Marketing Over Coffee John Wall and Christopher Penn

In this Marketing Over Coffee: A special conversation with Greg Verdino. We talk with him about his book MicroMarketing. Direct Link to File Show length 32:56 Brought to you by our sponsors: Blue Sky Factory – Our Email Provider of Choice – Check out thei

Adding Smarts To The Electrical Grid
NPR: Science Friday Podcast NPR

The nation’s electrical distribution system has been getting less reliable over time, according to an article by electrical engineering professor Massoud Amin. How dependable is our electrical infrastructure, and will plans for a more intelligent “smart

Feb. 19, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
APM: A Prairie Home Companion’s News from Lake Wobegon American Public Media

The snow is melting and people are able to walk around town again.

Why Cities Rock
Freakonomics Radio Stephen J. Dubner

Could it be that cities are “our greatest invention” — that, despite reputation as black-soot-spewing engines of doom, they in fact make us richer, smarter, happier and (believe it!) greener?

Defeat Your Doppelgangers
Stuff To Blow Your Mind HowStuffWorks.com

Most people are familiar with the idea of a doppelganger — some mysterious copy or clone of another human being — but what’s the science behind this phenomenon? Tune in as Julie and Robert take a closer look at doppelgangers.

Millionaires vs. Billionaires
Freakonomics Radio Stephen J. Dubner

Five things you don’t know about the NFL labor standoff

mozart: Prog. 8 Objects: A window from Mozart’s flat in Vienna
A History of Mozart in a Dozen Objects BBC Radio 3

A window from Mozart’s flat in Vienna inspires Cliff Eisen to visit the actual place – the Figarohaus, today a museum dedicated to the composer, who tried to earn his life as a free-lance musician in the Imperial Capital – but what challenges did he…

Life on the 500th Floor
Stuff To Blow Your Mind HowStuffWorks.com

By 2050, experts believe approximately two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. How will this urbanization change life for individuals, and how will it affect the world? Listen in and learn more about life on the 500th floor.

Have We Grown Too Fond Of Technology?
NPR: Science Friday Podcast NPR

In her book Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, Sherry Turkle examines our proclivity for robots, smart phones and social networks, and though far from suggesting we ditch technology, she wonders if we aren’t losin

February 5, 2011: The Splendid Table
APM: The Splendid Table American Public Media

This week we’re talking to Hal Herzog, author of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat, about our sometimes puzzling relationship with meat, Diana Henry author of Plenty brings us a decidedly British take on leftovers, and New York Times Getting Lost co

mozart: Prog. 2 Objects: Portraits of Mozart
A History of Mozart in a Dozen Objects BBC Radio 3

Cliff Eisen introduces the second in a series of programmes exploring Mozart’s world through objects associated with him. Today, two of the most important portraits of Mozart: the Stock and the Lange portraits in Salzburg….

TA: Illegal Workers and Capital Punishment
Thinking Allowed BBC Radio 4

What is the work experience of the illegal immigrants taking part in the British economy? Laurie hears about a new report from David Whyte. Also, is the American Death Penalty an anomaly in an age of abolition? David Garland and Ken MacDonald join…

Everybody Peeled Mushrooms : GardenFork Radio
GardenFork Radio Eric Rochow

This week we check in with Julie and Tim, our friends in the UK. we talk about snow, town history, Etsy, and food myths.

Are you smarter than an ant swarm?
Stuff To Blow Your Mind HowStuffWorks.com

A single ant might not be Mensa material, but a colony of ants can produce some amazingly clever decisions. Tune in as Robert and Julie explore the study of swarm intelligence — and how it compares to human intelligence.

99% Invisible-16- A Designed Language
99% Invisible Roman Mars

The idea is simple and quite beautiful: if we all shared a second, politically neutral language, people of all different nations and cultures …

A Bold Career Move May Save Your Life
The Bigg Success Show The Bigg Success Show Life On Your Own Terms

mozart: Prog. 4 Objects: Mozart’s own piano
A History of Mozart in a Dozen Objects BBC Radio 3

Cliff Eisen explores some of the many types of piano Mozart played during his life, along with specially-recorded excerpts to illustrate the features he wanted to exploit as he wrote music for the instrument…

Science Diction: The Origin Of ‘Physician’
NPR: Science Friday Podcast NPR

In the 13th century, Anglo-Normans appropriated the French physique, or remedy, to coin the English physic, or medicine, which is still in dictionaries today. Science historian Howard Markel discusses how physic became physician, and the parallel evolutio

IOT: The Nervous System 10th Feb 2011
In Our Time With Melvyn Bragg BBC Radio 4

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Nervous System, the body’s communication network. The discovery of the nervous system is a fascinating story which begins in ancient Greece and is still going on today. Melvyn is joined by Colin Blakemore, Professor…

AHOW: 097 Hockney’s In the Dull Village 19 Oct 2010
A History of the World in 100 Objects BBC Radio 4

Print by the British artist David Hockney. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the sexual revolution of the 1960s through a print by David Hockney which shows two men in bed together. The work was one of a series created as the…

AHOW: 099 Credit card 21 Oct 2010
A History of the World in 100 Objects BBC Radio 4

A plastic credit card. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the changing role of money in the modern world by looking at a Shari’a compliant credit card. How is modern banking adapting for new markets and what are the moral issues…

I Like This – March 1, 2011

March 1, 2011 by admin

Glogster – Poster Yourself | Text, Images, Music and Video – February 27, 2011 – Cool, interactive personal page designer that allows embedding of images, sounds, video, photos and text. Looks like a great place for kids to dive into some personalize pages to share with friends.
How to Brand Your Blog’s YouTube Channel – February 27, 2011
First look: “no editing” iPhone video editor in HighlightCam – February 26, 2011 – Hmmm, can it really do everything it says it can? Since it is free I will be checking it out and will let you know. Anything that makes assembling videos easier is a good thing for me.
Netflix Has Woken Up To The Threat Of Metered Billing – Starts Taking On ISPs In The U.S. And Canada – February 23, 2011 – The same issues laid out here also directly effect individual podcasters like myself. If people’s bandwidth is metered they will simply turn off the automatic download of podcasts and other data because they won’t be able to tell how much it might end up costing them.
I have often said that the only think that could kill podcasting are bad decisions, either from the government or the ISPs. Anyone who is hoping to develop a sizable New Media audience needs to pay close attention to metered billing.
Make Your Facebook Fan Page a Party – February 22, 2011 – Some good tips to spice up your Facebook pages and get more people interacting there.

I Like This – February 22, 2011

February 22, 2011 by admin

SlideShare Moves Into Virtual Meetings With Zipcast – February 16, 2011

Production, Promotion and being Proactive in your Career

February 21, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

#alttext#

A live recording of my presentation, “Production, Promotion and being Proactive in your Career”, at Tuesdays with Transitioners on February 15, 2011. (1 hour, 23 minutes)

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Friday March 18, 2011

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Recently Listened Podcasts for February 21, 2011

February 21, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

Bring on the Pain! 26:51:00 Stephen J. Dubner Freakonomics Radio 2/19/11 20:20

Episode One: Marie Antoinette (Audio) 1:05:53 historychicks The History Chicks 2/19/11 19:53

Entrepreneurial Leadership Does Not Happen in the Executive Suite 5:06 The Bigg Success Show The Bigg Success Show 2/19/11 18:48

AHOW: 096 Russian revolutionary plate 18 Oct 2010 14:05 BBC Radio 4 A History of the World in 100 Objects 2/19/11 18:42

AHOW: 098 Throne of Weapons 20 Oct 2010 14:09 BBC Radio 4 A History of the World in 100 Objects 2/19/11 18:28

Carol Roth on The Entrepreneur Equation – Part 3 8:18 The Bigg Success Show The Bigg Success Show 2/19/11 18:14

Children of Tomorrow, Raised by Machines 41:36:00 HowStuffWorks.com Stuff To Blow Your Mind 2/19/11 18:06

Carol Roth on The Entrepreneur Equation – Part 1 8:50 The Bigg Success Show The Bigg Success Show 2/19/11 17:24

IOT: The Battle of Bannockburn 3rd February 2011 42:05:00 BBC Radio 4 In Our Time With Melvyn Bragg 2/16/11 12:07

99% Invisible-15- Sounds of the Artificial World 4:51 Roman Mars 99% Invisible 2/16/11 11:25

IOT: The Mexican Revolution 20th January 2011 42:06:00 BBC Radio 4 In Our Time With Melvyn Bragg 2/15/11 11:19

January 29, 2011: The Splendid Table 51:50:00 American Public Media APM: The Splendid Table 2/14/11 16:36

January 22, 2011: The Splendid Table 52:09:00 American Public Media APM: The Splendid Table 2/14/11 15:02

Rachel Abroms of Rachel Abroms Studio is our very special guest this month on the Escape PODcast 49:59:00 Susan M. Baker The Escape Hatch 2/14/11 10:59

Entrepreneuring is About One Thing 7:34 The Bigg Success Show The Bigg Success Show 2/14/11 10:28

I Like This – February 15, 2011

February 15, 2011 by admin

99% Invisible: podcast on the power of design – February 9, 2011

Recently Listened Podcasts for February 11, 2011

February 11, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

Here are a collection of podcasts that I listened to, or watched, lately.

TA: Men’s Health and Brazilian Cosmetic Surgery 28:03 BBC Radio 4
Thinking Allowed 2/11/11 6:02 PM

99% Invisible-09- 99% Private 4:30 Roman Mars
99% Invisible 2/11/11 5:33 PM

99% Invisible-13- Maps 4:30 Roman Mars
99% Invisible 2/11/11 5:26 PM

99% Invisible-08- 99% Free Parking 4:51 Roman Mars
99% Invisible 2/11/11 5:20 PM

Michael Port on Book Yourself Solid Part 1 7:56 The Bigg Success Show
The Bigg Success Show 2/11/11 1:53 PM

Snowbound! 23:05 John Wall and Christopher Penn
Marketing Over Coffee 2/11/11 1:44 PM

gunsmoke, cyclone 03/14/1953 29:34 www.botar.us
botar’s old time radio 2/11/11 10:40 AM

Monster Audio, Pools of Blood & Invisible Roommates – Fun! – Film Riot 14:20
Revision3 Film Riot (Quicktime Large) 2/10/11 2:41 PM

TEDTalks : Cynthia Breazeal: The rise of personal robots – Cynthia Breazeal (2010) 17:13 Cynthia Breazeal
TEDTalks (video) 2/10/11 2:31 PM

TEDTalks : Michael Pawlyn: Using nature’s genius in architecture – Michael Pawlyn (2010) 16:56 Michael Pawlyn
TEDTalks (video) 2/10/11 2:14 PM

IOT: Aristotle’s Poetics 27th January 2011 42:01 BBC Radio 4
In Our Time With Melvyn Bragg 2/8/11 9:24 AM

Social Media for Small Business : GardenFork Radio 31:10 Eric Rochow
GardenFork Radio 2/8/11 9:11 AM

gunsmoke, trojan war 02/28/1953 29:39 www.botar.us
botar’s old time radio 1/31/11 12:52 PM

I Like This – February 8, 2011

February 8, 2011 by admin

How to Keep Your Facebook Secure by Enabling HTTPS [Video] – February 1, 2011 – Adds a level of security, especially nice if you work on public wifi a lot.

Recently Listened Podcasts

February 1, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

Here are a few podcasts I have listened to today — Douglas

Tim O’Reilly on Language as a Map 6:11 Brady Forrest Ignite

Ola Helland on Getting One Million Giraffes 5:44 Brady Forrest Ignite

AHOW: 085 Reformation Centenary Broadsheet 1 Oct 2010 13:51 BBC Radio 4 A History of the World in 100 Objects

IOT: Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage 6th Jan 2011 41:55:00 BBC Radio 4 In Our Time With Melvyn Bragg

Jan. 15, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon 13:09 American Public Media APM: A Prairie Home Companion’s News from Lake Wobegon

Directing, Headshots, Lens Flares and Zombie Mommy! – Film Riot 11:58 Revision3 Film Riot (Quicktime Large)

Event: Douglas speaking at Tuesdays with Transitioners – Feb 15

February 1, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

On Tuesday, February 15, I will present “Production, Promotion and Being Proactive in You Career.” at Tuesdays with Transitioners.

I will touch on various uses of social media to help show people “what you do and how well you do it” and help attract work to you, instead of always searching for that next job.

When:

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 – 12pm-2pm

Where:

Congregational Church of Northridge
9659 Balboa Blvd, Northridge, CA

I Like This – February 1, 2011

February 1, 2011 by admin

The First Full-Sized Microphone Arrives for the iPad and iPhone [Audio] – January 28, 2011 – Your iPhone and iPad are high quality recording devices and this mic can take them to greater heights.
10 seconds that say it all – January 27, 2011

How do you make a living in New Media?

January 31, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

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How do you make a living in New Media? I received this great question a few weeks ago and wanted to answer it publicly in hopes that others may benefit.

Here is the question…

“Hi, Mr. Welch. I’m a mom. My son is going to college majoring in (guess what) new media. As a parent I’m wondering how my son is going to make a living in new media, and not feeling like I knew enough about it, I found your Welchwrite.com site. I watched your speech to the Independent Filmmakers, and I have a clearer understanding of what new media is and the best way to use it, so thanks for that. However my fundamental question remains: how does one make a living in this field? Please help. Thank you.”

..and here is my answer…

There are several ways of building a career based on New Media. Two typical career paths include:

Taking the entertainment route and becoming a producer of your own New Media content, such as producing your own audio or video show

Using your New Media skills to help others produce their content.

Entertainment Path

Here in Los Angeles, many people are taking the traditional entertainment industry approach and attempting to create their own New Media properties in hopes that they can gather an audience, support themselves and perhaps even rival the success of mainstream entertainment.I find this a harder road to follow, as there is a lot of competition, but there can be great rewards for those who hit upon the right property.

This approach to a New Media career tends to be the preferred method for those working, or hoping to work, in the entertainment industry, such as actors, comedians and musicians, as they already have a talent to showcase and New Media provides them an easy distribution method for their work. They can use New Media to show “what they do and how well they do it” to a large number of people and gather an audience around them. This can then lead to mainstream exposure or, in some cases, provide significant income to support themselves from their New Media shows, along with the income from ancillary products like live shows and merchandise.

It is important to remember that there are levels of success in the entertainment industry, despite its focus on the “star system.” While a New Media personality may not garner the money and attention of a Hollywood star, they may find that they can gather a dedicated audience who see them as a star in their own, smaller world, and also provide enough monetary support to provide them a life which many would see as successful. You shouldn’t get caught in the trap of thinking that you must become the next Madonna or Kevin Smith or Jon Stewart. There are many levels of success and New Media could make you very successful indeed.

Consulting Path

Another approach to a New Media career is to become an employee or consult with those people who want to establish their own New Media presence. Your skills at creating and managing New Media are in demand from a wide variety of companies and clients. This is the direction my own New Media career has taken. While I produce my own shows around my personal interests, my long experience in podcasting and New Media allows me to help others create their own New Media properties as well as speak and instruct on New Media topics.

The major benefit to this type of New Media career is that, much like computer consulting, you can work in a wide variety of companies and industries. You might work creating video promotions for a major retailer or develop in-house video materials for a local manufacturer. You could help a local chef build their profile through an Internet cooking show or teach a non-profit how to better communicate with their supporters. Since New Media crosses all boundaries you can look for ways to combine your New Media knowledge with other expertise you might have.

For example, if you are a paralegal or have other law-related experience, you bring more to the table than just your New Media skills. You are well positioned to work with a law firm or law-related public advocacy group as you have skills and expertise on both sides of the equation. Perhaps your are a musician. You bring specific knowledge to your consulting that other musicians can use. This combination of skills give you many more options when choosing between jobs and can open up significant opportunities.

Whether you choose the entertainment or New Media consulting path through your career, I think you are positioning yourself well for the future. Mainstream entertainment is fragmenting under its own weight and high production costs, so I see New Media as a rising market while mainstream production is a diminishing one. There are simply fewer and fewer opportunities in mainstream production with each passing year, so careers there become more and more difficult. New Media provides the ability to combine your New Media expertise with your other talents and create your own unique career based on your own wants, needs and desires. This flexibility is one of the best features of developing a career using your New Media skills.

So, get out there and start building your New Media career today! I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the opportunities that are available to you.

I Like This – January 25, 2011

January 25, 2011 by admin

This Is the Closest You Will Ever Get to Fly Hanging From an Helicopter [Video] – January 24, 2011 – Very cool interactive video. I like this a lot better than simply having 3-d, although 3-d would make this extremely immersive.
InMaps – Stunning New Linkedin Tool Lets You Vizualize Your Connections – January 24, 2011 – Interesting way to visually connect with your LinkedIn network and see what connections arise.
Vid.ly Makes Streaming Video Work on Any Device – January 24, 2011 – It seems so odd that we still have to deal with format problems, but this site might make your video podcasting life a little easier. I am checking it out today.
Facebook Fan Page Notifications With Hyper Alerts Free App! | MariSmith.com – January 21, 2011 – This service fits in with my typical workflow of using notifications to know when people want to interact with me on services that I don’t use that often or services that aren’t my “home base”. Great way to keep an eye on things without having to check manually.

Event: Super Happy Vlog House – This Saturday – Ojai, CA

January 20, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

SHVH Update for Saturday Jan 22, 2011

Here’s an update of schedule and activies for this Saturday’s Super Happy Vlog House.

This is an open and free event where we learn, share and play with web video, blogs and the like. Come and geek out for the day at the beautiful Ojai Digital Dojo with others who are passionate about making video. All levels are welcome, beginners to experts.

There are both scheduled and unstructured activities. Feel free to come for the whole day or just the parts that interest you and fit into your schedule. Drop-in’s are welcome.

Likely Activities (it’s up to you what we do):

8am – Jim Joseph‘s coffee and morning geek talk. Jim makes the best coffee. Truly.
9am – Alicia’s Ojai Guest House breakfast for those who stay over Friday night or come early on Saturday. Fresh eggs from our chickens. UPDATE: belgium waffles!
10am – Welcome and introductions. Self organize the day’s activities.
11am – What’s new with HTML5 video? Lots of fun examples.
Noon – Pot luck lunch and BBQ, hot dogs (beef or vegie), sausages, burgers.
1pm – How to add fun video-related features to your web pages using HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery.
2pm – Meet the vloggers. Jim Joseph, Chris Ritke and Tyler Suchmann. Chris will be sharing his experiences making the Ojai Artists Video and Jim will be leading a demonstration around ball room dancing music. UPDATE: Social media pioneerDouglas E. Welch said he’s hoping to join us!
3pm – Internet Archive Cleanup Day – A tour of the Internet Archive, new features and a call to action.
3:30pm 4pm – Vlog walk. Join us for a video walk and visit with local vlogger friends like artist Uta Ritke, plus a stop for a snack or tasty beverage in Meiners Oaks.
5pm – Dinner, pot luck. Tri-tip, chicken, pulled pork, fried rice, beans, salad.
6pm – Open video and web clinic. Get help with your projects; collaborate with others. Edit and post that cool video you shot today.
7pm – Next to Heaven: vlog screenings. Whiskey and cigars, ports and chocolate.

This is a free event. We’ll organize some sort of pot luck lunch and dinner; please bring something or toss a few bucks into the kitty if you can. This is an adult friendly event with wine, beer and frank discussions. Children are welcome if accompanied by an adult.

For additional information, please leave a comment, email markus.sandy@gmail.com or call 805-798-0436.

Overnighters are welcome. First come, first serve on rooms, beds, couches and the RV. Pleanty of room for camping if that is your style and weather permits.

Rain or shine.Labels: ojai digital dojo, supper happy vlog house, vlog

It’s WordPress Wednesday – Commit to keeping your blog up-to-date

January 18, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms in the world today, whether you are using the free hosting of WordPress.com or running a self-hosted blog on your own web site.

Along with all the power the WordPress carries, though, is a responsibility to keep your blog as secure as possible. There are many exploits (and exploiters) out there that would like to turn your WordPress into a spam-infested Google magnet.

There is an easy way to keep your blog trouble free, though. You need to regularly check for updates to both the WordPress program itself AND any plugins that you might be using on your site. Updates often contain fixes for known errors or bugs that can be exploited by the nasty people of the Internet. Keeping everything updated doesn’t guarantee that your blog won’t be attacked, but it closes the most basic holes in your security.

So, in the interest of keep your blog on the straight and narrow — I am proposing that every Wednesday become WordPress Wednesday. Let’s make this alliterative weekday and use it as reminder to check our WordPress software, our plugins and even comments that we may have missed along the way.

So, how do you keep your blog updated?

First, if you are hosting your blog at WordPress.com, congratulations! You are updated automatically by the WordPress.com staffers. You could still use WordPress Wednesday as an opportunity to check your comments for spam or if they need to be moderated, but most of the work is done for you.

If you are using a self-hosted install of WordPress, here are a few actions to take each WordPress Wednesday.

Log into your blog Dashboard
Look for WordPress Update notes (usually on a yellow background) announcing a new update of the WordPress software itself
Look for update markers on your Plugins menu item.
- These numbers in a black circle tell you how many plugins need to be updated.
- Click the plugins link to see a list of all plugins
Follow the steps provided to automatically upgrade either the WordPress software or the plugins.
Look for the same type of update count listed next to the Comments area
Accept or reject comments that need to moderated or marked as spam.

With just a few minutes of time each WordPress Wednesday, you can keep your WordPress blog clean and speedy.

Need more WordPress help? Ask your questions in the comments!

I Like This – January 18, 2011

January 18, 2011 by admin

Precorder – January 18, 2011 – At $2.99 this is not a “must buy” for me, but I have similar audio app called Epiphany that constantly records and then saves 1-2 min clips when you press the “Remember That” button. Very cool when you having a conversation with someone and they come up with a cool idea.

[Tip] Make it WordPress Wednesday every week – Log into your dashboard, upgrade software, upgrade plugins, etc.

January 13, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

Get more New Media Tips via Twitter – Follow @newmediatips

[Tip] Before following people on Twitter fill out your profile info. Help people to follow you back, not ignore you!

January 9, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

Get more New Media Tips via Twitter – Follow @newmediatips

Quora Answers: If I wanted to get my podcast sponsored, how do I do that?

January 3, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

The first step is documenting your audience and the amount of traffic your podcast attracts. With this information, you will be able to develop a press kit which you can use to approach potential sponsors. They will want to know that you are speaking to their potential buyers on a regular basis.

Gathering demographic info for your listeners can be difficult, as podcast listeners seem to be notoriously shy of surveys. You can hold a contest as a way to increase survey response, though.

As for podcast statistics, you will probably need your raw log files in order to capture the total number of downloads for each episode. Then you can aggregate them to create your total monthly downloads. These downloads will include both new shows and older shows as people do not often listen in order, or find older episodes and listen directly from the web site. This number will show you the number of “impressions” you might be able to fulfill for a given sponsor.

Make sure when you develop any sponsorship campaign that the sponsor has a way to track exactly how many buyers came from your podcast. There should be a unique product code or coupon which they can track on their end so they don’t have to rely on you for that reporting. If they are tracking it themselves they will be much more trusting of that info.

Here is an example of a podcasting press kit – http://www.businesscast.ca/media…

Careers in New Media

Helping to Build New Careers in New Media